Free Republic

Contributions are pouring into the American charities involved in the massive relief effort in South Asia at an "incredible" pace.Americans are using the Internet, the mail and the phone and dropping by local relief agency offices to donate - to help the survivors of the killer tsunamis get back on their feet and rebuild their lives, their homes and communities."The response has just been incredible," noted American Red Cross spokeswoman Jackie Flowers, who reported that $18 million in contibutions had been received since Sunday.'snip'At CARE USA's office in Atlanta, "a stranger just walked into the office with a check for...

WASHINGTON, Dec. 30, 2004 – The U.S. Joint Task Force set up to provide assistance to the nations affected by last weekend’s Indian Ocean tsunami is up and running, and Marine assessment teams have started to report their findings. More than 115,000 people are estimated to have died in the tsunamis that struck on Christmas. U.S. forces are in the region to help the affected nations in whatever needs to be done. The United States will deliver “as much help as soon as we can, as long as we’re needed,” said Navy Capt. Roger Welch, chief of U.S. Pacific Command’s...

Natural disasters bring incomprehensible suffering. In this, they differ from manmade calamities. If you believe in free will, you can at least allow that human beings are capable of inexhaustible evil when they turn away from God, and that innocents suffer as a consequence. Even if God exists, free will makes the Holocaust, Pol Pot and Stalin possible. But when the plates of the Earth's crust shift suddenly, plunging whole populations into desperate agony, there are no moral lessons to be drawn. This solid Earth can become a monster, snatching babies from their mothers' arms and drowning saints and sinners...

<p>We hope Secretary of State Colin Powell was privately embarrassed when, two days into a catastrophic disaster that hit 12 of the world's poorer countries and will cost billions of dollars to meliorate, he held a press conference to say that America, the world's richest nation, would contribute $15 million. That's less than half of what Republicans plan to spend on the Bush inaugural festivities.</p>

"we spend "35 million by breakfast time everyday in Iraq"...refering to the Stingy offering to the tsunami victims from the US. I have heard that at least 4 times today from the "talking heads".

The tragic loss of life from the earthquake and tsunami in the Indian Ocean now exceeds 100,000 and may eventually double that, due to disease, civil unrest, and other factors. In response, the United States and other nations have pledged millions of dollars in humanitarian assistance to aid the survivors and assist affected nations in recovering from the disaster. Unfortunately, some in the international aid business cannot seem to shake their reflexive criticism of America despite ample evidence of its generosity. The U.S. government initially announced that it would provide $15 million in humanitarian aid and send experts to help...

Excerpt from article: The senior U.N. relief official who chided wealthy Western nations for being "stingy" with their aid was not "misguided and ill informed," as President Bush said on Wednesday, the newspaper wrote. U.N. emergency relief coordinator Jan Egeland made the statement in reference to general aid supplied by the wealthy countries, but later praised the rapid international response to the tsunami that hit 12 countries Sunday. http://www.cnn.com/2004/ALLPOLITICS/12/30/quake.usa.editorial.reut/index.html

Gelb was identified as a senior Kerry adviser in an interview with Rand Beers, John Kerry's top national security adviser...

WITH Southeast Asia battling one of the worst natural disasters in modern history, Western politicians took the opportunity to create a perfect storm of petty recriminations. As the world scrambled to send money to help, U.N. Emergency Relief Coordinator Jan Egeland huffed that rich nations are "stingy" with foreign aid. Trying to talk his way out of the ensuing flap, he explained Tuesday that he didn't mean stingy so much now in the current relief effort but more, well, stingy all the time: Our governments don't give enough cash to the Third World. What he doesn't get (natch, he's...

UNITED NATIONS -- U.N. humanitarian chief Jan Egeland praised rich nations Wednesday for their generosity in helping victims of the tsunami, but stood by his criticism that the rich do too little to assist the poor when there are no emergencies. President Bush and Secretary of State Colin Powell took umbrage at Egeland's comment Monday: ``We were more generous when we were less rich,'' he said. ``And it is beyond me why we are so stingy, really.'' The following day Egeland told reporters that his complaint was directed at no nation in particular, and didn't refer to the outpouring of...

President Bush defended American generosity Wednesday, even as his administration figures out how to pay for more help beyond the $35 million it has already promised to tsunami victims in Asia. In his first remarks since the weekend disaster that so far has killed more than 76,000, Bush - like some in his administration previously - took umbrage at a U.N. official's suggestion that the world's richest nations were "stingy," and indicated much more is expected to be spent to help the victims. "Well, I felt like the person who made that statement was very misguided and ill-informed," Bush said...

President Bush finally roused himself yesterday from his vacation in Crawford, Tex., to telephone his sympathy to the leaders of India, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Indonesia, and to speak publicly about the devastation of Sunday's tsunamis in Asia. He also hurried to put as much distance as possible between himself and America's initial measly aid offer of $15 million, and he took issue with an earlier statement by the United Nations' emergency relief coordinator, Jan Egeland, who had called the overall aid efforts by rich Western nations "stingy." "The person who made that statement was very misguided and ill informed,"...

President Bush finally roused himself yesterday from his vacation in Crawford, Tex., to telephone his sympathy to the leaders of India, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Indonesia, and to speak publicly about the devastation of Sunday's tsunamis in Asia. He also hurried to put as much distance as possible between himself and America's initial measly aid offer of $15 million, and he took issue with an earlier statement by the United Nations' emergency relief coordinator, Jan Egeland, who had called the overall aid efforts by rich Western nations "stingy." "The person who made that statement was very misguided and ill informed,"...

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A35249-2004Dec29.html

Feel free to add names. Let's see who is stingy 1) The Billionaire George Soros The billionaire who said he'd spend whatever it takes to beat Bush. Final figure came to about $35 million 2)Peter Bing-Hollywood Mogul Another billionaire. Another big contributor to Kerry. 3)Peter Lewis-U Of Phoenix $10 million to Kerry 4)Hollywierd Crowd Harvey Weinstein (lead fundraiser),Ed Asner, Mike Farell,Sean Penn, Linda Rondstadt, George Clooney,Woody Harrelson,Madonna, BaldwinsJulia Roberts... I'm too tired 5)Kojo Annan 6)Mark Rich 7)Elton John,Dionne Warwick and all of "We Are The World" 8)Paul McCartney 9)Any Atheist Groups 10)Bernie Schwartz Loral Corp 11)Buddhist Temple In LA where...

BANGKOK, Thailand (AP) - A Thai air base that accommodated U.S. bomber planes during the Vietnam War is being used by the American military again as the hub of its tsunami relief effort in the Indian Ocean. U.S. officials said Thursday that transport planes and personnel already are flying into and out of Utapao, about 90 miles south of Bangkok. A U.S. embassy spokesman said P-3 Orion surveillance planes were already flying search and rescue missions over Thailand and the first supply planes arrived in Thailand overnight. The Pentagon has said C-130 cargo planes would haul relief supplies to Thailand...

"EMMA ALBERICI:The Australian, British and US governments were willing to spend billions of dollars waging a war in Iraq after the death of 3,000 mainly Americans on September 11...now that 60,000 Asians have been killed, those same countries have only been prepared to spend millions to help"..."CAROL BELLAMY:...we at UNICEF think that money spent on war is wasted money in the first place, wherever that war is; that war is not good for children in any forum at all..."

(CNSNews.com) - By Thursday, just four days after a powerful tsunami hit countries in southern Asia and eastern Africa, Americans had contributed more than $18 million to the American Red Cross International Response Fund. "I'm heartened that the American people are turning to the American Red Cross as a conduit for their compassion and concern for the families affected by the tsunami in Asia," said Marsha Evans, president and CEO of the American Red Cross, in a press release. "The American Red Cross will be as transparent as possible," Evans added. "I want to assure donors that their intent will...

Oxfam Press Release - 28 December 2004 MAKEPOVERTYHISTORY Challenge to Tony Blair to sign global poverty pledge Today, MAKEPOVERTYHISTORY challenged Tony Blair to do much more to tackle global poverty by pledging to change damaging UK policies and press for international action that delivers a real breakthrough. The new report, Make History: A challenge to the British Prime Minister in 2005 was delivered to Downing Street, demanding that Tony Blair sign on the dotted line. "We are issuing this challenge to Tony Blair as we believe that he must do more to end global poverty. It is time for the...

As the sun rose over Tel Aviv this morning I again woke to the grumbling noise coming from the television about the tsunami disaster. The top stories every quarter hour this morning was no longer the death toll or that America is stingy, all that changed yesterday when the UN backed down from that idiotic remark. No the issue today is that President Bush is spending time on his ranch and that is insensitive to the victims of the disaster. Presumably the BBC, and the other news stations took former President Bill Clinton’s comment, “It is really important that somebody...

"The United States is not stingy," Secretary of State Colin Powell bristled in response to criticism of a paltry $15 million initial U.S. contribution to tsunami-relief efforts. Bulletin for Powell: That's not the way many Americans and most the rest of the world see it. As the Bush administration is wont to say, actions speak louder than words, and America's actions in recent days have painted the United States as a rich, self-absorbed and uncaring nation that had to be shamed into anything approaching appropriate concern about this catastrophe. The Bush administration's handling of this crisis has been inept beyond...

Two events happened this week which seem unrelated, yet they are quite close. Both illustrate the opposite of the Christmas spirit. One was the firing of the CEO of Fannie Mae; the other was a UN official calling the US “stingy” for pledging $35 million for Asian flood relief. Of course, there was the usual overlay of incompetence of the American press in covering these matters. We’ll cover that as we go along. Let’s begin with the golden parachute for Franklin Raines, former CEO of Fannie Mae. Two weeks ago, Raines was fired as CEO of Fannie Mae (FNM) by...

As the Asian quake and tsunami death toll topped 100,000 and is rising, President Bush said the United States' initial grant of $35 million in SE Asia was 'only the beginning of our aid.' He said the United States, India, Australia and Japan have formed an international coalition to coordinate worldwide relief and reconstruction efforts for the Asian region. Aid agencies today warned disease will also cause massive casualties among the survivors as the biggest relief effort in history began. The president took issue with Jan Egeland, the United Nations' emergency relief coordinator who called the US "stingy" in regard...

Let me see if I have this straight: The United Nations, that hotbed of corruption that repeatedly stabs the United States in the back, is now complaining America is "stingy" about doling out aid to the victims of Sunday's killer earthquake. In other words, don't bother us with your national security concerns, but open that checkbook when we tell you to -- and we mean now. Just what the U.S. taxpayer wants: An international organization -- hemorraghing money for decades but accountable to no one -- sticking its hand in our pockets. Good idea, don't you think?

By JOHN HEILPRIN, Associated Press Writer WASHINGTON - President Bush (news - web sites) defended American generosity Wednesday, even as his administration figures out how to pay for more help beyond the $35 million it has already promised to tsunami victims in Asia. In his first remarks since the weekend disaster that so far has killed more than 76,000, Bush — like some in his administration previously — took umbrage at a U.N. official's suggestion that the world's richest nations were "stingy," and indicated much more is expected to be spent to help the victims. "Well, I felt like the...

I was watching Fox news right after the Bush speech. They ran off the list of each country giving money to the relief efforts. France was dead last at $136,000! What a joke! And the UN called us Stingy?

As I look over yesterday's posts about U.N. Undersecretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs Jan Egeland's inane comment that the U.S. is "stingy," and see similar responses from around the blogosphere, I begin to sense that this comment hit a nerve. We're watching 68,000 people die on the other side of the world. Other than giving to relief organizations, there's not much we can do - the damage is done, and those who were lost are gone. But some fool using this terrible event as an excuse to bash America, ignoring the facts? He is somebody we can do something about. Now...

LONDON, Dec 29 (Reuters) - Rescuers scoured coastlines around the Indian Ocean for survivors of Sunday's giant waves that killed tens of thousands. The United Nations mobilised what it called the biggest relief operation in its history. The following is a list of contributions pledged, compiled from reports by Reuters bureaux and U.N. agencies. AUSTRALIA: Increased its aid to $27 million and said it, the United States, Japan and India were considering setting up a group to coordinate help. Also sent five air force transport planes with supplies and medical specialists to Sumatra, and two 15-member emergency medical teams and...

The water hadn’t receded from the beaches in Sri Lanka before some trash-talking UN crony was lamenting the inadequacy of the United States’ response to the recent tsunami. Early Monday, United Nations Emergency Relief Coordinator Jan Egeland accused the United States of being “stingy” with its relief effort. Egeland later backed away from his complaint, but not before earning the ire of many Americans who immediately volunteered time and money to the relief campaign. The United States government pledged an initial contribution of $15 million. No word yet on how much individual citizens have contributed to the pool, but traditionally,...

UNITED NATIONS - The U.N. emergency relief coordinator praised rich nations Tuesday for their generous response to victims of the earthquake and tsunami waves that raced from southeast Asia to east Africa but said much more will be needed to rebuild the shattered nations. Jan Egeland told reporters his complaint Monday that rich nations were "stingy" when it came to helping poorer nations wasn't directed at any country or at the response to this weekend's disaster. "I have been misinterpreted when I yesterday said that my belief that rich countries in general can be more generous. This has nothing to...

WASHINGTON, Dec. 28 - Rejecting a United Nations official's suggestion that it had been a "stingy" aid donor, the Bush administration on Tuesday announced another $20 million in relief for victims of the Asian earthquake and tsunamis and dispatched an aircraft carrier and other ships to the region for possible relief operations. The announcement brought the United States' total aid package to $35 million so far, and Bush administration officials said much more would be sent. Secretary of State Colin L. Powell, displaying irritation with the suggestion of American stinginess, said the United States had been the most generous of...

* The United States was deemed "stingy" in its immediate promise of $15 million in aid to the post-tsunami relief effort in Southeast Asia by United Nations Undersecretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Jan Egeland. * I have two words for the U-G for HA & ER Egeland: Get out. * In fact, I have the same two words for the whole United Nations: Get out. * The United States -- the "stingy" United States -- contributes 20 percent of the entire budget to run the United Nations. Out of every five dollars of Egeland's salary, the taxpayers of...

An appropriately red-faced senior United Nations official beat a hasty retreat yesterday after accusing America and other well-off Western nations of a “stingy” response to the devastation in south Asia. Jan Egeland, a Norwegian who holds the lofty title of Undersecretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, now claims he was “misinterpreted” when he charged Monday that “there are several donors who are less generous than before in a growing world economy. [snip]Misinterpreted? Baloney. Egeland knew exactly what he was saying — and he meant every word of it. Of course, it was about as truthful as the rest of the slime...

[snip]To the extent that world powers can come together in common purpose, they were doing it on Monday and Tuesday.     But even amid the chaos and suffering, the peace of God didn't last a day. Most prominently, finger-pointing by United Nations officials commenced almost immediately.     You'd think the highest-ranking U.N. officials could stick to the business at hand and save their unrelated Euro-socialist gripings about tax cuts and the evils of capitalism for another day. You'd be wrong. U.N. Undersecretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs Jan Egeland — the world body's point man for relief efforts, not fiscal policy — criticized politicians...

[snip]This commitment, however, was not generous enough for Jan Egeland, the Norwegian bureaucrat who heads up relief efforts for the United Nations. [snip]Let's review the obvious: The United Nations is an odious institution. Whenever I make this commonsense observation, I am invariably rebutted with questions like, "What about the starving people it feeds?" or "What about the peacekeeping?" OK, what about them? The United States supplies more than one-fifth of the United Nations' total budget (and 57 percent, 33 percent and 27 percent of the budgets for the World Food Program, the Refugee Agency, and Department of Peacekeeping Operations, respectively)....

U.N. unqualified for relief effort -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Posted: December 29, 2004 1:00 a.m. Eastern © 2004 WorldNetDaily.com Did I hear correctly? Is the United States turning over millions of dollars to the United Nations and its agencies to relieve the immense suffering of millions victimized by the 9.0 South Asia earthquake and resultant tsunami? How is this possible given the latest scandalous news about the United Nations? Forget the "oil-for-food" scandal in which U.N. officials and their designates received millions in payoffs. Forget the lack of accountability this global agency has demonstrated over the years. Forget the way the United Nations...

Mullings - An American Cyber-Column This is Diplomacy? Rich Galen Wednesday December 29, 2004 · The United States was deemed “stingy” in its immediate promise of $15 million in aid to the post-tsunami relief effort in Southeast Asia by the United Nations Undersecretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief, Jan Egeland. · I have two words for the U-G for HA & ER Egeland: Get Out. · In fact, I have the same two words for the whole United Nations: Get Out. · The United States – the “stingy” United States – contributes 20 percent of the entire budget to...

I only have access to a few English language television stations while I am visiting Israel: BBC News and CNN International. Every quarter hour they recap the top stories. Today’s big story (after the non-stop images of a tidal wave taking out resorts frequented by Europeans and few Americans) is the comment of U.N. Undersecretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs Jan Egeland who said that western nations, particularly the United States, were being stingy with their aid packages offered for victims of the disaster. Without putting into context the fact that the United States provides more funding to the UN than any...

The United States was deemed "stingy" in its immediate promise of $15 million in aid to the post-tsunami relief effort in Southeast Asia by the United Nations Undersecretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief, Jan Egeland.

Since there's a huge uproar over the comments made by Jan Egeland and there doesn't seem to be a transcript of the press conference posted by the UN (and even if you E-mail the UN they tell you to read a Fox News Transcript of him backpedalling because his comments were "taken out of context.") I decided to transcribe the relevant part of the press conference so all could read what this arrogant UN Humanitarian really said. And he said a bunch. Hit the link and watch the 27 December 04 Press Conference. I've added the time markers. [I can't...

By way of contrast, the 25-member European Union, the world largest trader whose combined economy is larger than that of the United States, will deliver $4 million.

28 Dec 2004 21:58:40 GMT Source: Reuters RIYADH, Dec 28 (Reuters) - Oil-rich Saudi Arabia pledged on Tuesday a $10 million aid package to victims of the tsunami disaster in Asia, which officials say has killed more than 59,000 people and affected millions of others. A statement on the official Saudi Press Agency said the country would donate $5 million worth of food, tents and medicine, to be transported and distributed via the Saudi Red Crescent. Another $5 million in funds will be given to several international aid groups such as the Red Cross and the U.N. High Commissioner for...

Earlier today, responding to these remarks by the UN's Jan Egeland But U.N. Undersecretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs Jan Egeland suggested that the United States and other Western nations were being "stingy" with relief funds, saying there would be more available if taxes were raised. "It is beyond me why are we so stingy, really," the Norwegian-born U.N. official told reporters. "Christmastime should remind many Western countries at least, [of] how rich we have become." "There are several donors who are less generous than before in a growing world economy," he said, adding that politicians in the United States and Europe...

Stingy Americans?: U.N. Official's Comment Hits Nerve of American Charity By John Heilprin Associated Press Writer WASHINGTON (AP) - A suggestion by a U.N. official that the world's richest nations were "stingy" irritated the Bush administration, especially when U.S. aid for Asia's earthquake is expected to eventually rise from the millions to more than $1 billion. The comment reopened the question of how to measure American generosity. The answer ultimately depends on the measuring stick. The U.S. government is always near the top in total humanitarian aid dollars - even before private donations are counted - but it finishes near...

THE COMPASSION OF THE LEFT:The biggest human disaster - perhaps since the flood of Noah's day and it seems a bit of clarity needs to be had on how people are responding to the disaster. The United Nations has called the $35,000,000 in aid that the United States has already shipped has been labeled "stingy". Jan Egeland, the U.N. undersecretary general for international aid is the one who made the comments. He also inferred that the reason why the American government has been so stingy is because the tax rates are too low. He even went so far as to say that...

U.N. official slams U.S. as 'stingy' over aid By Bill Sammon THE WASHINGTON TIMES The Bush administration yesterday pledged $15 million to Asian nations hit by a tsunami that has killed more than 22,500 people, although the United Nations' humanitarian-aid chief called the donation "stingy."

Southern kindness, Yankee stinginess persist in charity, according to 'generosity index' By Justin Pope, Associated Press, 11/5/2002 03:52 BOSTON (AP) Southerners still take the prize when it comes to charitable giving, though a few Yankee states are making progress toward shedding their stingy reputations. Relatively poor Bible Belt states, headed by Mississippi, retained their lead in the latest ''Generosity Index,'' a survey measuring the disparity between what residents of each state earn and what they give. Mississippi has finished first in five of the six annual surveys. In the latest, the Magnolia State once again has the greatest disparity between...